Secret's Out
by fringeperson
Summary: ONESHOT. DO NOT OWN. COMPLETE. When Robin came in to STN-J one morning, a hand over her mouth, and ran straight for the bathroom, no one really had any idea how much things were about to change.


When Robin arrived at the office and stepped out of the elevator, unusually late, everyone was surprised to see her immediately rush for the bathroom, a hand clamped over her mouth. Doujima and Karasuma shared a moment of eye contact before they both got up from their work stations to follow her and find out what was wrong with the young Craft user.

The smells of vomit and burning simultaneously hit their noses as they opened the door, and they could hear Robin choking up bile in one of the stalls.

"Robin?" Doujima called, knocking on the door. "Are you alright in there?"

The sound of more retching was her answer, and a small cloud of black smoke floated up over the stall.

"I guess not," Doujima said, quietly and apologetic. "I'll get some tea, that should help," she said to Karasuma.

The older woman nodded. "I'll stay and keep an eye on Robin."

Doujima returned the nod – they had a plan – and exited the bathroom quickly.

"Is she alright?" Michael asked when Doujima came out of the ladies room. Every ear present seemed to swivel to hear her answer, even Amon's.

"Well, she's throwing up, and making smoke-clouds," Doujima answered as she sped towards the small kitchen space. "So I don't think so. Karasuma's keeping an eye on her right now, and I'm making tea that will, _hopefully_, calm her stomach down. If she's vomiting _fire_ in there, then I'm really worried."

Michael nodded his understanding. "Me too. I hope she'll be alright."

Doujima shrugged as she walked back towards the women's bathroom, cup of tea in hand. "I hope she isn't contagious or dying. As it is, if she doesn't get over whatever it is, she won't be able to go out on cases any time soon," she said. "Can't have her becoming a target by puking and then setting it on fire once she's emptied her guts."

Michael shuddered. "You're disgustingly graphic," he stated. "It isn't appreciated."

Doujima offered a small conciliatory smile, the hand not holding the tea pressed against the bathroom door. "Sorry," she said, then ducked inside.

"Why are you so concerned for her?" Amon asked Michael when the door closed.

"You're not?" Michael asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can work with Haruto until Robin recovers. We managed before she came," he pointed out. "So why are you so concerned?"

Michael sighed and rolled his eyes in irritation. "She sometimes comes back after regular hours to catch up on old files. She brings donuts and makes coffee, and we talk a little," he answered. "We have become _friends_ since she was assigned here."

"Fraternisation with STN-J personnel outside of work is taboo," Amon stated, his black eyes narrowing at Michael.

Michael rolled his eyes again, smirked, and went back to his typing.

Haruto chuckled, drawing Amon's attention. "What?"

"Like Michael said," Haruto answered. "They were _here_, after hours yeah, but they were _working_ while the rest of us were going about our own personal lives."

Amon's usual frown deepened at this observation and he abruptly went into the conference room to go over files for a recent case that the police had sent them to review. It was an odd case, but they weren't sure if it was strange enough to qualify, and Amon wasn't entirely convinced that it was either.

Karasuma and Doujima emerged from the bathroom, each one holding onto one of Robin's arms as though she needed them to hold her up. Doujima looked to Karasuma then, upon receiving a nod from the older woman, let go of Robin to grab a wheelie chair and bring it over to her. Taking Robin's arm again, Doujima helped Karasuma settle Robin into the chair which was out of the way of most of the office, about halfway between the nearest computer and the women's bathroom – as though they fully expected Robin to need to make a break for the porcelain bowl again.

With Robin seated, Doujima went back into the bathroom, coming out a second later with the used tea cup, which she took to the kitchen to wash before she made another cup and carefully carried it over to Robin.

"Ah, thank you Doujima," Robin said, smiling a tired, completely grateful smile up at her. "You make wonderful tea."

Doujima smiled kindly. "You're welcome," she said. "That can't be any fun."

Robin took a deep sip of her tea. "It isn't," she answered. "But the tea helps."

"I put some honey in it to help sooth the burning," Doujima offered.

Robin closed her eyes a moment and inhaled the scent of the tea, sighing before taking another sip and smiling gratefully when she released the edge of the cup from her lips. "That's what the sweet is. You truly have a gift with tea."

Doujima smiled, flattered and blushing a little before she waved her hand across her face bashfully, as though waving the compliment aside. "Just let me know if you need another, alright?"

Robin nodded. "I will. Thank you again."

Doujima nodded and turned to go to her desk.

"You're sure you'll be alright?" Karasuma asked gently, bending a little to look Robin in the eyes.

"Yes," Robin answered. "I'll be fine now. Thank you for your concern Karasuma," she said.

"I hope you won't think it impertinent of me," Karasuma whispered, laying a hand over Robin's arm, "but I took the liberty of reading you while Doujima fetched you the chair. Robin, you're -"

"I know Karasuma," Robin answered, just as quietly, laying a hand over Karasuma's in gentle reassurance. "I know. It's not very fun right now, but I'll be over it soon enough."

"It's a big risk Robin," Karasuma pointed out.

Robin closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "I know that too," she said at last, then opened her eyes and locked them on Karasuma's own darker blue orbs. "I'll find a way."

"What about the father?" Karasuma asked, not raising her voice.

"Did you read who it was?" Robin asked, eyes wide.

Karasuma shook her head. "Do you know who?"  
Robin smiled. "It can only be one person," she answered contently, then chuckled. "Unless God chose me like he did the virgin Mary," she added.

"Does he know?"

Robin shook her head. "I'll tell him soon," she promised with a gentle smile.

Karasuma nodded. "Rest," she said kindly. "You look exhausted."

Robin chuckled. "So kind," she said wryly before frowning in worry. "You won't... tell anyone, will you?" she asked.

Karasuma smiled and shook her head, then went to her own work station, waving as she left the young hunter and Craft user to her tea.

By lunch time, Robin was looking more herself again and her stomach had completely settled down. There weren't any new cases to work on, so she just reviewed the files on old, cold, unsolved cases and sorted through the bundles of paper files that police had sent to them.

"Robin," Amon stated. He never called her name. He always stated it, as though her undivided attention was guaranteed once he demanded it. "We're going out."

Robin looked down at the files in her hands, then to the tea cup that was cooling on the desk beside her, then back up at Amon.

"I think you'd better take someone else," she said. "I started feeling ill in the taxi on the way here, and the elevator made it worse. I don't like the idea of a repeat."

Amon frowned at that but eventually nodded silently before turning to Haruto, who was more than happy to put down what he was doing in favour of getting out of the office.

Zaizen called her into his office then, and Robin frowned. She honestly didn't like him and didn't trust him, but Solomon – for all that she wasn't too fond of _that_ organisation either – had sent her here, so she had to at least be civil with him – until he or Solomon decided to kill her anyway.

"Robin, why did you not go out with Amon just now?"

"I am unsure if the reason for my throwing up this morning was food poisoning, in which case it is unlikely to bother me again, or if it was something else that travelling by car or using the elevator could aggravate again. I would not like to become a spectacle in the streets by having to stop and throw up," she explained.

Zaizen nodded his acceptance of this explanation and dismissed her back to her files.

Robin bowed, straightened, placed a hand to her mouth and was very still for a moment, then sighed in relief before turning and leaving the office.

"What did the boss want?" Doujima asked when Robin came back down, hurrying to her side when she saw that the younger girl looked a little bit green and was alternating between covering her mouth and holding her stomach.

"To know why I didn't go with Amon of all things," Robin answered. "How's your snooping going?" she asked more quietly.

Doujima smiled. When Robin had been brand new to STN-J from Solomon, Doujima had done the improper and taken the new girl back to her apartment and told her about why _she_ was there – not immediately of course, just after the fifth case that Robin had been there for – or arguably fourth, since she arrived in time for the end of that first one – but after she had calmed down Haruto when they were chasing the witch who left behind the scent of sweet olives every time he used his power anyway.

"The Factory is definitely related to the Orbo," Doujima answered just as quietly. "I can't find where they are though, which I'll probably need to if I'm going to get all the answers that Solomon wants." Doujima looked Robin up and down again as they reached where Robin had been set up near the bathroom. "I'll make you another cup of my tea."

"Thank you."

"Robin," Michael called softly, turning in his chair so that he was facing her rather than his computer.

She smiled over at him. "I'll be fine Michael," she assured him. "I'm tired, nauseous, and can't keep anything too solid down right now, but I promise, I'll be just fine."

Worry lines appeared around Michael's eyes and the corners of his mouth so that his whole face seemed to frown at her in concern. "You're sure?" he asked.

Robin nodded. "Though I may put off riding in the elevator for a while," she added.

"Please don't joke with me," Michael said seriously as Doujima returned with the tea. "Robin -"

"Cool your heels," Doujima hissed. "Do you want Zaizen to notice that you're more interested in Robin's health than your work?" she demanded as she walked passed him with Robin's tea.

Michael shook his head and turned back to his work station. "No," he admitted with resignation.

"I'll drive you back to Touko's apartment when you're ready to go home, alright?" Doujima offered as she handed Robin the tea cup. "I don't mind pulling over if you feel sick along the way."

Robin smiled up at the blonde. "Thank you Doujima."

~oOo~

"I didn't find anything today," Robin said as she climbed into the passenger seat of Doujima's car at the end of the day. After they had come out of the elevator, Robin had pressed herself against the wall for a few minutes, one hand over her mouth, the other over her stomach, and her eyes closed as she willed down the feeling of nausea.

"I wasn't really expecting you to," Doujima answered with a gentle smile. "Though I appreciate the effort that you're going to on my behalf."

"I don't like the Orbo," Robin stated. "There's just something about it that seems ... dirty about it, I suppose, but in a sinister sort of way."

"Like the feeling that crawls under your skin when you throw up?" Doujima asked, eyebrow raised at her travel companion. "Are you going to explain your 'stomach flu' to me now?"

"Throwing up all day is cleaner than Orbo," Robin stated, a little bit morbidly as she stared out at the street before them. "Hmm? Why? Oh, I'm pregnant."

"You're _what_?" Doujima shrieked, then abruptly pulled over to the side of the road so that she could turn and stare openly at Robin.

"Pregnant," Robin said again.

Doujima's eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped. "That's the note that you slipped to Michael before we left, isn't it?" she asked at last, her tone awed and her voice barely above a whisper.

Robin nodded, smiling.

Doujima had told Robin about her mission from Solomon, and Robin had asked Doujima to be the official witness on the registry papers that she had signed one evening with Michael – as well as to bring the priest of course. Michael had tweaked the security feed for that night, and he and Robin had been married in the downstairs foyer of STN-J. No suits, no fancy dresses – apart from the one Doujima had decided to wear as the only possible bride's maid for the event – not even any flowers or veils. Doujima was the only person of STN-J who had been given the trust of their secret, and she had kept it well, not even reporting it to Solomon or her own diary.

"When did you have the time to do _that_?" Doujima demanded to know, part of her horrified and the other part full to the brim of gleeful fascination. "For that matter, _where_?"

"The elevator," Robin answered. "Zaizen doesn't have a security camera in there."

Doujima stared.

"Sometimes the conference room," Robin continued, then giggled. "Michael turns off the cameras and turns on the computers, so there's a light-show above us."

The blonde's jaw dropped.

"And Michael has his own rooms there as well," Robin said more reasonably. "He kept shorting all the cameras that Zaizen put in there when Michael had just been forced into STN-J, so eventually the old pervert stopped having new ones put in."

Eyes that were wide with shock blinked as the mind behind them tried to absorb all of this information. Eventually, what Robin was saying sank in, and Doujima found her voice again.

"And after only being married for three weeks?" she demanded in a whisper-weak yell. "Were you _trying_ to get pregnant? Or just really horny?"

Robin raised a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter. "Both," she answered at last. "Though I didn't tell Michael that I was trying to get pregnant," Robin added in quiet admission.

"Poor boy's probably out of his skull right now because of that little note you left him," Doujima quipped with a slight chuckle before she took a deep breath and pulled back into the traffic.

"Well, I'll get to find out tomorrow," Robin answered.

"Eh? You're seriously going to keep coming into the office when your pregnant?"

"Yes. It's... safer at the office than at Touko's apartment at the moment. I'm going to pack my things tonight and move into Michael's room," Robin said.

"But, the boss!"

"Is going to try and have me killed soon, I think," Robin answered, turning to look out the window.

"What? Why? Just because you're pregnant?" Doujima asked.

Robin shook her head. "No. Because I'm a witch, and the Methuselah woke up the memories in my blood that hold generations of memories of different witches throughout history who have been wrongfully hunted down by the power-hungry and cowardly," she answered, then turned back to Doujima, who was glancing at her from the corner of her eye between looking back at the road to make sure that she didn't crash.

"So Zaizen's the bad guy, rather than the witches?" Doujima asked.

Robin shook her head. "The witches are dangerous because they have power and they're frightened. Zaizen is dangerous because he _wants_ power and doesn't seem to much care how he gets it, which is part of what sparks that fear in the witches to begin with," Robin explained.

"Vicious cycle of catch-22," Doujima mumbled with a frown.

Robin nodded.

"He won't target his own office building though, so I'll be safer there. Besides, I'll be surrounded by people with guns who care about me," Robin pointed out.

"And you'll be with Michael," Doujima added.

"And I'll be with Michael," Robin agreed with a smile, laying a hand over her stomach tenderly.

When Doujima pulled up outside Robin's building, Robin was feeling a little nauseous again, but not as bad as she had in the morning.

"Actually Doujima," Robin said before she got out of the car, "would you come up and help me pack? I think I'll go back tonight."

Doujima smiled and nodded. "That will give Michael a chance to sweep you up in his arms and yell at the top of his lungs about being a father without the rest Zaizen or Amon finding out," she said.

"Amon? Why would Amon care?" Robin asked.

Doujima chuckled. "Emotionally stunted he may be, and it doesn't come across very well, but he's actually a little protective of you now, and might be just a _touch_ possessive."

Robin raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"You didn't see him earlier. When Michael asked me if you were alright – while you were throwing up this morning – Amon got a teeny bit aggressive about why he was asking," Doujima said with a giggle, then turned off the engine before climbing out of her side of the car.

Robin stopped at the front desk to tell the receptionist that say that she was leaving, and promised to leave a forwarding address as soon as she had one – she couldn't give STN-J's address after all, it just wouldn't work. She'd set up a box at the post office in the morning.

"All these stairs!" Doujima complained as she looked up the staircase while Robin collected the mail from the box she currently shared with Touko. "Why doesn't your apartment have an elevator?"

Robin chuckled. "I don't know," she answered. "Maybe it's old, or maybe it's just cheap."

Doujima pouted. "I'll bet it's both."

Robin chuckled at her friend again as she looked through the mail. "Eh? One for me?" she said, surprised.

"Ooh, open it now, before we go up!" Doujima said with a smile. "Anything to put off going up all those stairs!"

Robin laughed and tucked Touko's mail beneath her arm and slid a pale finger into the top of the envelope, tearing it open.

"Well? What does it say?" Doujima asked.

Robin scanned the sheet in front of her. "It says I am too dangerous, and that the man who raised me loves me, but is also terrified of me," Robin stated sadly. "I suppose it's my unofficial courtesy warning that they're sending out the best hunters from headquarters after me. It would seem that I have the option of terminating my own existence, or running, or fighting back with this power that terrifies them. I may have weeks or months, depending on who they send, and how high a priority I am, before the first hunter arrives. If I live through the first one, more will be sent afterwards."

Doujima's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"You've had that face a lot today," Robin said sadly, not lifting her eyes from the letter.

Doujima shut her mouth and swallowed nervously.

"At least STN-J isn't being ordered to hunt me," Robin offered. "And I can spend more of my time with Michael. If you like, I'll sweet-talk him into letting you get to the Orbo information tonight."

"You're pregnant, on the hunted list, and you're _still_ offering to help me with _my_ mission first?" Doujima demanded in a harsh whisper, her eyes still wide.

Robin shrugged. "I'm not going to just _let_ myself by hunted," she said. "I may go into hiding, I think that's reasonable enough, but I still want to spend my time with Michael as much as possible, and I intend to live to see my child born," Robin added, a firm resolve straightening her spine and sharpening her gaze.

"But if you're on the hunted list!" Doujima wailed quietly.

"Then Zaizen will know and try to eliminate me himself at the first opportunity. Since I'm finding out today, then he probably found out today as well," Robin said calmly. She didn't feel calm, but she couldn't let herself go all to pieces. It was _vital_ that she not go all to pieces. If she caved in now, then she wouldn't be able to protect her child.

"So, pack?" Doujima offered.

Robin nodded.

"But be careful going in."

"Of course," Robin answered.

~oOo~

A very frazzled Doujima drove an mildly distressed Robin back to STN-J, all of Robin's things packed up in her small suitcase and sitting on the back seat. The police had taken over the apartment, and an ambulance was taking Touko for treatment – she'd been hit in the shoulder by one of the witch-hunting bullets that was meant for Robin and was more than just a little traumatised by being tied up and having so many bullets flying around her while she sat in the middle of a sand circle.

"Deep breaths Robin," Doujima reminded her friend. "If you get too stressed, it will be bad for the baby."

Robin gasped in a shuddering breath. "Thank you Doujima," she said after she'd inhaled deeply a couple of times.

"Just... Don't let Michael know you were nearly killed tonight?" Doujima suggested. "I don't think he could handle that on top of parenthood. Or that Amon showed up there either."

Robin nodded her agreement. "I'll have to tell him about my being hunted now, but it can wait a little while I think."

Doujima pulled over to let Robin buy donuts for Michael, and then it was just a couple more minutes before they were back at STN-J, and Doujima bid a more cheeky goodbye as Robin closed the passenger-side door.

Robin waved goodbye and then made for the elevator. Hopefully, it wouldn't trigger her nausea again. She got out of it again on the second floor, where Michael had his living space. Even if he wasn't there yet, either still working or taking a break down at the dry well-that-wasn't, she knew that he'd be for sleep soon enough. Besides, she needed to move in. She smiled at the very idea.

Her smile widened when she saw Michael come out of his shower wrapped in only a towel. She managed to suppress the smile long enough to whistle lowly in appreciation of the view, only to bite her lip as she grinned again when he turned around.

Matching blushes erupted on their faces.

"Robin?" Michael asked, surprised.

"I brought donuts," she answered.

"Robin!"

She laughed as he dropped his towel and in the time it took her to blink had his arms around her, getting her dress just a little damp as a result.

"I was so worried about you all day, and then you pass me a note just before you leave that says you're pregnant! What did I do to deserve such unkind treatment from the love of my life?" he demanded, smiling as he spun her around once before setting her back on her own feet.

"You got me pregnant in the first place?" Robin suggested coyly.

Michael laughed, only to be cut off by Robin's lips pressing against his. When they parted, Michael smiled down at her and lay a gentle hand over her stomach.

"We're going to be parents," he said, completely awed.

Robin sobered slightly and decided it was better if he knew immediately. "If I get to live that long," she whispered.

"Eh? Robin?"

"That bullet from the other day Michael," Robin reminded him. "The one used for hunting witches. Men came to the apartment tonight and tried to kill me."

Michael's eyes widened in horror. "Are you alright?"

Robin nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Doujima was with me, so she helped. Touko got hit in the shoulder though, so she's in hospital," she answered. "I'm officially on the 'hunt' list now though, so..."

Michael frowned. "It's just a stupid mistake. I'll hack the system and have you taken off the list," he insisted.

Robin smiled and leant into his bare chest happily. "Or just list Robin _Sena_ as successfully hunted," she suggested coyly. "Oh, could you do Doujima a favour?" she asked.

"Since she helped you, yes," Michael answered.

"She's got orders from Solomon to investigate Orbo and Zaizen. They don't like the research and they don't trust him," Robin said. "Like I had orders to find this power."

"Which they're hunting you for now," Michael pointed out, pulling her tighter against him. "I'll get the files for her, everything I can from Factory. It can wait until morning though."

Robin hummed her agreement and let a hand drift down Michael's chest and stomach lightly before twirling her fingers through dark ginger thatch that was still damp from his shower.

"Good," Robin whispered. "Because my hormones are on the up-swing, and I'm craving a meal of husband."

Michael laughed. "Anything for the mother of my child," he said, bringing fingers to pry at buttons while his other hand took the suitcase from Robin and put it on the floor.

~oOo~

Michael was roused from pleasant dreams of holding Robin in his arms when the warm weight beside him bolted upright and the sound of bare feet pounded through the room, followed by the smell of something burning, and he could hear Robin wretching.

He immediately got up as well and followed her to the bathroom, where he knelt beside her and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"Morning sickness," Robin said weakly when the throwing up stopped. "Though I think the fire isn't supposed to happen."

Michael shook his head. "It means that none of it actually reaches the water in the bowl," he pointed out. "It's a good defensive mechanism. No one can test it and find out."

Robin nodded and got up carefully, moving to the sink where she rinsed her mouth out. She was ashen pale. "It still tastes really bad," she said weakly.

"It will pass," he promised, wrapping his arms gently around her.

"Michael," Robin said quietly, turning into him. "I want to contact Father Julianos."

"The man who sent you here?"

Robin nodded. "He's also the man who is asking for my hunt to be taken up. He's scared of me."

"Then he doesn't know you well enough," Michael said firmly. "I'll get him here."

"Thank you."

~oOo~

"It looks like they're working off of someone else's research, and are having to decode his files," Michael muttered to himself as he stared at his computer.

"Old research?" Robin asked as she brought him coffee.

"Mm, fifteen years old," Michael answered. They had decided to start hacking into Factory before anybody arrived at STN-J for the day, and Michael was making good progress while Robin had made their breakfast. Suddenly, his fingers halted their intricate dance over the keyboard.

"Michael?"

"Robin, I suddenly feel very ashamed."

"Huh?"

Michael looked up at her from his screen. "I never thought of finding out what Factory did with the witches once we'd hunted them. I never questioned where Orbo came from or how it was made – or what it was made from," he turned back to his screen. "I feel filthy, and I never handled it."

"Michael?"

"The witches Robin," he said in a harsh whisper. "It's made _from_ the witches."

Robin's eyes popped open and she moved to stand directly behind him and look over his shoulder at the data that he had found. She gasped and a hand flew to her mouth. "It's horrible," she said, eyes wide and on the verge of tears.

"We are _going_ to help Miss Doujima bring in Solomon to destroy this place," Michael said firmly.

Robin nodded, but didn't move except to wrap her arms around Michael's chest when he resumed his typing.

Five minutes later, they came across another worrying file.

"Project Robin?"

"Factory is in the process of de-fragmenting it right now," Michael answered. "But they're going about it all the wrong way," he added with a frown. Then he turned to Robin and smirked. "Feel like finding out before they do?"

Robin retuned the smile and nodded. "Especially if it has something to do with me," she added.

Michael nodded his agreement, and while he set a portion of his hard-drive to copying out all of Factory's data, he turned his personal attention to cracking 'Project Robin'.

An hour later, the first person of the day entered. It was Karasuma.

"Good morning," Robin called, straightening up from where she was bent over Michael.

"Good morning," Karasuma answered. "Are you feeling better this morning?"

Robin smiled. "I've thrown up already," she answered a little sheepishly. "But yes, I feel better. I decided to take the stairs up this morning, rather than the elevator, which probably helped as well."

Karasuma nodded. "Uh," she began, glancing at Michael before returning her gaze to Robin. "Did you find time to tell-?" she asked, cutting herself off so that she didn't give anything away if Robin didn't want her to.

Robin smiled. "When everyone gets here, I have an announcement to make," she answered happily.

Michael looked up over his shoulder. "More than one announcement Robin," he said. "I don't want to keep _this_," he said, gesturing to his computer so that Robin knew exactly what he was talking about, "a secret from the team."

Robin nodded solemnly.

"I'm missing something," Karasuma said, then sighed. "I suppose that I can wait until you're ready though. Michael, are there any cases?"

Michael shook his head. "Not yet Karasuma," he answered while his fingers returned to their task of salvaging what appeared to be a last message from some scientist to Zaizen. Both Michael and this strange man were much better at their jobs than the men who were currently working for Zaizen at the Factory, obviously.

When the last of the team arrived – Haruto, surprisingly enough – Michael moved into the conference room carrying his laptop. Everybody else followed him.

"Before I start, Robin has something important to say," Michael said once everyone was sitting.

"I am sorry for the disruption to working yesterday," she said, standing and bowing.

"Do you know what was wrong with you?" Haruto asked.

Robin smiled, and Doujima, Karasuma and Michael all smiled back, less obviously. "Nothing is wrong with me Haruto," she said. "I'm just pregnant."

"Pregnant!" Amon demanded, standing sharply.

"Eh!" Haruto gasped, his eyes bulging as they fixed on Robin's stomach.

"That's right," she answered happily.

"Does the father know?" asked Chief Kosaka with a frown.

Robin turned her smile on him and nodded. "Provided that I live, we're both very excited about becoming parents," Robin answered.

There was some stunned blinking.

"What do you mean, 'provided you live'?" Karasuma asked.

Robin shook her head. "Father Julianos, who raised me, has become frightened of my power since he hasn't been able to keep an eye on me. He's put in a request that I be put on the hunt list, but Michael has agreed to arrange for him to come here and see for himself that his fears are unfounded, and have my status returned to 'hunter' rather than 'witch'."

"Will we have to hunt you Robin?" Haruto asked, a little shakily.

Robin shook her head. "If I am recognised as a 'witch', Solomon will send some hunters from headquarters, rather than asking my co-workers to hunt me down," she answered. "But I think it's time we listened to what Michael has for us."

"Thank you Robin," Michael said, bringing up information on the long computer screens that they were all sitting at. "Fifteen years ago, Solomon got into genetic research..."

By the time Michael had finished talking, all the hunters had removed their Orbo and were staring at them in mild horror – even Amon, who really didn't do emotions well at all.

"I'm going to contact Solomon," Doujima announced, standing up.

"And they'll listen to you?" Haruto asked.

Doujima blushed a little. "Well, you see..." she started, then sighed and slumped in her chair. "I was sent here by Solomon to find out about Orbo and Factory."

"You're a spy?" Haruto demanded. "I can't take any more shocks today! All this creepy stuff about Orbo is just about to send me over the edge as it is!"

"There's one more thing," Michael said, bringing up the 'Project Robin' file that he had been working on.

~oOo~

It was a week later, when Robin was finally completely over her morning sickness, that STN-J and Solomon coordinated an attack on Factory. Father Julianos had come and seen Robin, who had eased his heart regarding his concerns about her. She had her power, and she had the truth, and she was still Robin – but now she was going into Factory with only Michael to help her. The two of them would find Zaizen while the rest of STN-J and the Solomon forces would capture anybody who escaped the facility.

"You know love," Michael said as they walked down the halls towards Zaizen's office. "You stalk your prey beautifully."

Robin's mask of cool composure broke then, and she raised a hand to her mouth to giggle.

"Well, this is somewhat unexpected," Zaizen said as Michael and Robin stood before him. "I thought that Amon would have come, rather than Michael."

"Michael has something to show you," Robin said with a small smile. "Something that I believe your men have been taking some time to complete."

Michael smiled and loaded the file up onto Zaizen's computer for him to watch. "You know this man, right?" he said, as Robin's quasi-father began his tired speech about his discoveries.

It wasn't long before Zaizen's denials began and he drew the 'purest' Orbo that had been developed so far.

Robin took her place in front of Michael.

"Defeating witches with weapons that you created _from_ witches?" she demanded. "No, I think not," she stated as she destroyed each one that he fired at her.

When he ran out of ammunition, Zaizen turned towards his elevator, but couldn't get it to open. He looked back at them to see Michael smirking over Robin's shoulder.

"Solomon has decided that, for the first time in their history, they are willing to put a normal human on their 'hunt' list," Robin said, her blue-green eyes fixed on Zaizen.

"Me," the old director gasped.

"You," Robin confirmed. "Would you like to know who they have assigned your hunt to?"

Zaizen's eyes grew wide and frantic. "They already sent one!" he said. "Factory caught him!"

"Yes, they already sent one," Robin allowed. "But you must know by now, Solomon isn't going to call off a hunt just because the hunter was killed or captured."

"Th-then who?"

Robin narrowed her eyes behind her glasses. "Me," she stated, then set him on fire, rapidly turning him into a small pile of ash.

"Ready to go now my love?" Michael asked, popping his chin over her shoulder.

Robin sagged back against him. "Yes," she answered. "But the witches that they've captured, I have to take care of them first," she whispered.

Michael nodded and led her back to the holding area. "Here Robin," he said. "You can finish it, then we'll disappear."

Robin nodded and set the tanks on fire, ending the suffering of the witches trapped inside.

~oOo~

Michael was in a hospital waiting room in Italy, pacing up and down while Doujima watched him with growing irritation. She was just about to snap at him to sit down when a nurse entered and called his name.

"Yes?"

The nurse smiled kindly, having seen it all a hundred times before. "Would you like to see your wife and child now?" she asked.

Michael nodded and followed the matron up the hall and into a clean room that held the light of his life. Robin looked exhausted, but pleased, and there, held to her chest and already breast-feeding, was their baby girl.

"What will you call her?" Robin asked.

"How does Hope sound?" he suggested, recalling that Maria, Robin's mother, had said that she would bring hope to the world.

Robin chuckled. "Hope sounds just fine," she answered. "Hope Lee."

"I call dibs on the position of Godmother," Doujima stated as she stood in the doorway, smiling at the new family.

Michael and Robin laughed. "Of course," they both agreed, then laughed again some more.

~The End~


End file.
